THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 29, 1996 TAG: 9605290535
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 61 lines
Chesapeake's Lawrence Johnson, who set an American record in the pole vault Saturday night, heads a group of local athletes competing in the NCAA Division I track and field championships tonight through Saturday in Eugene, Ore.
Johnson, a senior at the University of Tennessee, is a heavy favorite to win his second NCAA pole vault title. He cleared 19 feet, 7 1/2 inches in Knoxville Saturday, breaking a 2-year-old record. The Great Bridge High graduate also holds the NCAA record at 19-3. No other NCAA vaulter has cleared higher than 18-6 1/2 this season.
Also seeking to defend her NCAA title is Norfolk's Tonya Williams, a senior at the University of Illinois. Williams is the NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles, and will also compete in the 100-meter hurdles.
``I've got to think like a champion,'' Williams said. ``I'm still the champ until Friday night.''
Williams, from Norview High, has posted the third-fastest time in the nation in both hurdles events and is running faster than at the same time last year, she said.
``It's hard to say if I'm really there yet, time-wise, because I don't get as much competition in the Big Ten as the people do down South,'' Williams said.
Johnson and Williams are believed to be the only South Hampton Roads athletes to win NCAA Division I titles.
Looking for his first NCAA title is Clemson's Tony Wheeler, a junior sprinter from Hampton.
Wheeler, a graduate of Kecoughtan High, won ACC titles in the 200 and 400 meters and will compete in both events in Oregon. His 200-meter time of 20.07 seconds is the second-fastest in the nation this year. He's run 45.40 seconds in the 400, the eighth-best this year.
Other local athletes who have qualified for the NCAA meet:
LaTasha Colander, North Carolina. The sophomore from Wilson High in Portsmouth was sixth in the 100-meter hurdles last year. She won the 100-meter hurdles at this year's ACC meet in 13.27 seconds, the 11th-fastest time in the nation. She was also third in the 200 meters, but won't compete in that event at the NCAAs. Instead, Colander will run a leg on North Carolina's 400-meter relay team.
Seneca Lassiter, Arkansas. A freshman from Lafayette High in Williamsburg, Lassiter will compete in the 1,500 meters. His time of 3:42.87 is the 11th-fastest in the nation.
Tamika Powell, George Mason. Powell, a junior from Kellam High in Virginia Beach, will compete in the discus and the hammer throw. She's ranked 10th in the nation in the hammer, and 11th in the discus. MEMO: LOCAL ATHLETES AT THE NCAAS\ Lawrence Johnson, pole vault
Tonya Williams, 400 and 100 meter hurdles
Tony Wheeler, 200 and 400 meters
LaTasha Colander, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter relay
Seneca Lassiter, 1,500 meters
Tamika Powell, discus and hammer throw ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Lawrence Johnson, a senior at Tennessee, set an American record in
the pole vault at 19 feet, 7 1/2 inches in a meet on Saturday in
Knoxville, Tenn. by CNB